Combining art and science a 'natural thing' for this Sudbury woman

Sometimes, you just have to "liver" a little.

A Sudbury woman is doing just that by combining her love of science and art.

Amanda Durkin, a PhD student at the Health Sciences North Research Institute, also has a passion for drawing. The result? Detailed drawings of organs, some placed on pages of textbooks with more information and others with a humorous message.

"As a science researcher combining science and art is a natural thing for me," she said.

Durkin says drawing became a part of her life in high school, but was put on hold early in her post-secondary education. While studying at Laurentian University, she submitted her work at the SciArt show and won.

"[I] realized that I could take what I'm passionate for now, which is science, and combine it with a hobby that I really love."

"Now I get the best of both worlds."

Durkin says combining the two is a way to make science more accessible to the public.

"I think art helps people understand science," she said.

"For me the combination of them is very natural but I think over time, science art could be a great way to communicate science to other people."

Many of her drawings are on textbook pages, which she creates. As for the reaction she gets,Durkin sayspeople are usually drawn to a particular organ for a personal reason.

"Everyone has some kind of story that is linked to some organ," she explained.